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W.A. Wilson et al.: Cyclic Capacity of Shear Walls with Caribbean Timber
ISSN 0511-5728
The West Indian Journal of Engineering
Vol.39, No.2, January 2017, pp.4-14
Cyclic Capacity of Shear Walls with Caribbean Timber
William A. Wilson a,Ψ, Rupert G. Williamsb, Surchee Babwahc and Vinisha Ramsinghd
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
Campus, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies;
a
E-mail: [email protected]
b
E-mail: [email protected]
c
E-mail: [email protected]
d
E-mail: [email protected]
Ψ
Corresponding Author
(Received 23 February 2016; Revised 8 June 2016; Accepted 18 August 2016)
Abstract: Timber buildings in the Caribbean are generally non-engineered structures and therefore do not have
structural systems that resist seismic forces, making the buildings highly vulnerable to earthquake damage. Shear
walls are the primary structural sub-component of the seismic force-resisting systems (SFRS) responsible for
providing resistance through in-plane shear and dissipation of energy via the sheathing-to-frame connections, and
transfer of the lateral forces to the foundations. Robust design of these elements requires reliable shear capacity data
and engineering design properties for the appropriate timber species. The unavailability of the relevant design data for
Caribbean timber species has negatively impacted their use in engineered buildings. An experimental programme
utilising shear walls, constructed with Caribbean Pitch Pine framing and Brazilian plywood sheathing under cyclic
reversed loading protocol was conducted in accordance with the American Standard for Testing Materials, ASTM E2126-11. Various performance characteristics were investigated including peak load, peak displacement; failure load
and failure displacement; maximum shear strength, stiffness and ductility. The unit shear capacity obtained from the
study compared favourably within 10% of the tabulated values in the 2008 Special Design Provisions for Wind and
Seismic (SDPWS-2008) for shear walls with similar materials and construction.
Keywords: Timber, Buildings, Shear walls, Cyclic loading, Seismic forces, Lateral loads